wobbly wood chairs - how do you glue them?

[cathleenc]

we bought a used dining room set, very reasonably, via Craigslist. Probably from 1930-1940 period.

All the chairs are loose and have play in various parts. Having two young children to pull/push/jump on them sure does not help. Thanksgiving is coming up and I fear having our guests end up on the floor due to collapsed chairs....

What is the quick and easy way to glue the joints? Can I just stuff any apparent joint crack/opening with gorilla glue and not clamp?

This is not a very valuable set - but I would like to use it for at least another 5-10 years, if not longer.

thanks!
Cathy

[moopups]

The normal method of doing this repair is to notch the insert pieces of the chair legs with a 'V' shaped cut, then there is inserted a shim wedge and glue, both of which are driven into the receiving hole and allowed to dry sufficiently. Of course the wedge must be bigger than the hole when expanded. But only by a little bit , maybe 1/16th of an inch. About 1/2 of the width of a pencil leads width.

[Liese]

If they aren't too bad you might try the toothpick and glue method but if you want 5-10 yrs out of them, why not get a couple of straps and clamp them proper ... just a little more time.

[ericjeeper]

It soaks in and swells the wood.. have to google it.

[WayneR]

There's also small toothed metal strips which are wrapped over the end of the tennon, coated with glue and forced together with a strap clamp or rubber mallet.

A rope tied around the chair legs,then tightened with a large stick (like you would apply a tourniqet), will suffice for the strap clamp. After clamping measure across the ends of the chair legs diagonally. Adjust them if necessary for the same measurment (will minimise the chair rocking)

[cathleenc]

Originally Posted by ericjeeper

It soaks in and swells the wood.. have to google it.

Eric, I can't find a thing about chair weld.... any other leads?

[cathleenc]

Originally Posted by WayneR

There's also small toothed metal strips

Where would I find such an aid? What kind of store/department in a store would stock these?

[cathleenc]

Originally Posted by Liese

If they aren't too bad you might try the toothpick and glue method but if you want 5-10 yrs out of them, why not get a couple of straps and clamp them proper ... just a little more time.

Liese, I never thought of using toothpicks! so obvious.

And Wayne's idea of making a tourniquet to 'clamp' them is brilliant.

The chairs aren't bad and I actually rather like the set. Would love them to last longer - and - feeling the crunch of too much to do asap.

thanks!
Cathy

[cathleenc]

Originally Posted by moopups

The normal method of doing this repair is to notch the insert pieces of the chair legs with a 'V' shaped cut, then there is inserted a shim wedge and glue, both of which are driven into the receiving hole and allowed to dry sufficiently. Of course the wedge must be bigger than the hole when expanded. But only by a little bit , maybe 1/16th of an inch. About 1/2 of the width of a pencil leads width.

Moopups, I'm sure this makes perfect sense to some but I can't get a visual.... picture speak a zillion words to me when it comes to physical stuff. Thanks, though, for trying to help - I always appreciate another approach.

[quietstar]

Wood glues available when your set was made sometimes simply failed. If the joints of a chair fit together reasonably tight when put together with a few taps, I would disassemble when possible, carefully clean any old, crumbling glue without enlarging any holes or reducing tenon size. Glue up again using waterproof Titebond glue which is available about everywhere. The twisted soft rope may be needed to bring the glued joints together, but Bands cut from old truck innertubes should hold them until the glue sets up in 20 to 30 minutes. Wipe squeeze-out glue off with a damp rag. Good luck and give uncle Charlie the strongest chair if he is the family heavyweight...Glen

[cathleenc]

Originally Posted by quietstar

Wood glues available when your set was made sometimes simply failed. If the joints of a chair fit together reasonably tight when put together with a few taps, I would disassemble when possible, carefully clean any old, crumbling glue without enlarging any holes or reducing tenon size. Glue up again using waterproof Titebond glue which is available about everywhere. The twisted soft rope may be needed to bring the glued joints together, but Bands cut from old truck innertubes should hold them until the glue sets up in 20 to 30 minutes. Wipe squeeze-out glue off with a damp rag. Good luck and give uncle Charlie the strongest chair if he is the family heavyweight...Glen

thanks, Glen! I don't have the time/energy/inclination/workspace to take the chairs apart but I have been trying to figure out how to get clean surfaces for the new glue to adhere to. Is there anything like dental floss for chairs? Or a really thin rasp to fit into/around the tenons so new glue adheres to wood instead of old, decrepid glue?
Cathy

[William G]

there is a repair kit for wood chairs called chair doctor. it comes with special tip to get the glue in the joints with out taking it apart. i got mine at woodcrafts in the store or you can get it on line

[Bearfootfarm]

Originally Posted by cathleenc

Moopups, I'm sure this makes perfect sense to some but I can't get a visual.... picture speak a zillion words to me when it comes to physical stuff. Thanks, though, for trying to help - I always appreciate another approach.

Picture the type of wedge that holds an ax head to the handle

It would work but its not the easiest way. Glue and rope works just as well without a lot of cutting and fitting. Toothpicks or wooden matches are great for tightening any wood joints, and also work great for screwholes in wood that are too large

[Cabin Fever]

The wedge method or the wood swelling method (Chair Weld) are really the only permanent ways to go IMHO. Glue joints will just crack with time.

[Ross]

I've used Chair Doctor...... good stuff if it's just a loose joint, you'd need to clamp it if it's seriously apart. I get it from Lee Valey

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,110&p=30261

[gccrook]

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(rk...aspx?SKU=10812

http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/12595

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(rk...px?SKU=1226513

[cathleenc]

I went for the chair doctor set from Lee Valley - those syringes looked like just the thing to get the swelling agent into the cracks.

thanks everyone! Looking forward to stiffer chairs soon.
Cathy

[Farmerwilly2]

Here's the one I'm familiar with:

http://www.ambroid.com/Chair-Loc.html

[comfortablynumb]

GoRilLa gLuE !!

[TNHermit]

If you want to keep these chairs for a while there are some things you need to look at. The fox wedge (driving a shim in) is good. It also can leave you with a split spreader or leg if not done right. If you can get some pieces of the old glue. Put it in hot water. If it dissolves its hide glue. If not someone else has had their way with these chairs before. If its hide glue and the joints are reasonably tight you can just scrape the worst of the old stuff off andd get some more hide glue at the borg and re-gule and clamp. If the the joints are not tight get some epoxy and fiberglass cloth. Actually you can use fiberglass resin. Spread the cloth with epoxy or resin, wrap the tenon and insert it back in its hole and clamp. Any cloth and resin that is sticking out can be removed or cut when the glue first hardens and cleaned up with acetone. IF you want to keep the finish then you,ll have to be more careful. wrap the leg and spindle (stretcher) with masking tape first.

Hide glue and epoxies are about the only two glues that will adhere to themselves. All the titebonds will not None of the aliphatics will permanently rebond. IF your in a humid are then the hide glue will probably over time get soft and loosen. But you can just re-glue

Chair lock works good sometimes and sometimes not so much. A lot depends on the condition of the wood.

You can also do like the Chinese. GLue it up and run a drywall screw through the whole thing. Looks real nice